obama whose day job is calling. jonathan karl has details. >> reporter: mother nature's ro october surprise. >> the storm will throw havoc into the race. >> reporter: for president obama it meant canceling two upcoming campaign events and visiting fema headquarters. >> woe are going to cut through red tape, not get bogged down by a lot of rules. we want to make sure we are anticipating and leading forward. >> reporter: there are political stakes, a chance for the president to show decisive leadership or take the blame if the response is bungled. all told, 16 campaign events have been canceled. mitt romney canceled three in virginia. moving westward to ohio, where he met up with paul ryan. >> today when we get home put in our prayers the people who are in the east coast in the wake of this big storm that is coming. let's not forget those fellow americans of ours. >> reporter: the race as close as ever. a point dram titatized in the o ad that the 2000 race was decided by 537 votes in florida. >> if you are thinking th